10 Post Secret Wars Marvel Dream Teams

So, it all but looks like the Marvel Universe will be getting the do-over treatment once their mega-event Secret Wars comes to its conclusion. Which could be called a bit redundant, since DC Comics did it not even 5 years ago.
But I personally always choose to look at the situation “glass half full”, and absolutely refuse to see ONLY the bad effects from flushing away decades of continuity in one fell swoop (actually, I already did that in another column months ago). After all, it’s now happening no matter what.
I might as well look forward to the ushering in of a whole new age of Marvel comics! More importantly, a whole new era for creators who may have never even gotten the chance to work on certain titles a chance to start from scratch and rebuild these heroes from the ground up.

There are so many great writers and artists that would do wonderfully on certain titles, and so many that never really got a chance to stretch their legs on some titles.

Here are some of my absolute favorite creators and the Marvel titles that would fit their styles perfectly.

These are the Marvel Dream Teams...

Avengers

Joss Whedon & Bryan Hitch

This actually seemed like a no-brainer to me. Joss Whedon, the director of the first two Avengers films taking the comic book reins and writing the absolute ultimate Avengers comics without any movie executives cramping his style.

It’s apparent that Disney and Marvel suits really had their fingers into Whedon’s Avengers stew and Age of Ultron turned out a lot different than he originally wanted. Well, we all know Axel Alonso and the boys in the Marvel bullpen are a LOT more laid back and would likely let Joss do WHATEVER he wanted to the comic book continuity. My guess is that we would see many characters from the films like Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye...and a few of Joss’ childhood favorites thrown in for good measure, whoever they may be. If you have ever read Joss’ Astonishing X-Men run, you know that his Avengers stories would be filled with unexpected plot twists, strong characters and lots of wit. Just what we want to see, right?

What better artist than Bryan Hitch to bring Joss’ perfect Avengers tales to life than Bryan Hitch himself? Bryan drew the original Ultimates comics written by Mark Millar and is even the first artist that “casted” Samuel L. Jackson in the role of Ultimate Nick Fury, and most of the Avengers and related films are heavily influenced by The Ultimates. I think it’s only fitting that Bryan is the one to once again, rebuild Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

This would be the perfect dream team, and this would be an amazing comic book.

Spider-Man

Robert Kirkman & Ryan Ottley

Okay, keep in mind that these are “dream teams”, and I can pick any creators I want, even if the possibility of them working on a Marvel comic is impossible.

That being said, Kirkman and Ottley may be the team behind Image’s Invincible and basically are tied down to that publisher...but GAWD, they’d be amazing working on Spider-Man together, wouldn’t they?!

Sure it would be a bit less violent than the sometimes over-the-top gore in Invincible, but with Robert Kirkman’s genius level talent of creating dramatic plot twists and turns and Ottley’s amazing superhero visual style (I’ve said so many times that I think Ottley is one of the most underrated superhero artists in the business), this would turn Spider-Man readers on their heads...bet on it.

But I will warn you, if you are a traditionalist, this team is definitely gonna push the envelope, even more than Dan Slott did. The world of Peter Parker and his amazing supporting cast would never be the same once these two are done....but it would be one wild ride.

Just imagine the guy that created The Governor from Walking Dead writing Norman Osborn?!! Just imagine Ryan Ottley drawing a Spider-Man vs. Sinister Six fight?!?! ‘Nuff said.

X-Men

Jason Aaron & David Finch

Now I know Jason Aaron’s already written Wolverine & The X-Men and Amazing X-Men, but I absolutely adored his run on those comics and his shot at working on the flagship X-Men book is more than well deserved. It would be big, funny and filled with memorable moments and characters. Jason has an amazing sense of the X-Men and would not disappoint.

I don’t know just how The X-Men will be handled after Secret Wars, what with all these rumors that Disney wants to bury the franchise because Fox owns all the film rights, but I really do hope that they at least give the fans of the comics like myself a great X-title to read...and Aaron and Finch would knock it out of the park.

Personally I would love to see a classic 80’s/90’s-centric X-Men lineup with all of the classic characters, Cyclops, Storm, Rogue, Beast, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Kitty, Gambit, Iceman, Jean and the rest. It would be absolutely refreshing to see my favorite super-team go back to basics.

Finch did get the chance to draw some pencils involving the Ultimate X-Men in the Ultimatum event years back, but could be the best artist around that has never gotten a full-fledged run on an X-Men title, so this would be the perfect time to put him on the book. Sadly, he is signed to a DC exclusive contract, so this would be all but impossible...right now, anyway.

Still, a superfan can dream, can’t he?

Fantastic Four

Brian Michael Bendis & Olivier Coipel

‘Ol BMB is Marvel’s go-to scribe and he has ran the gauntlet by having acclaimed runs on almost EVERY major Marvel title including Avengers, X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil. The only major Marvel title he’s never worked on? Well, the one that basically started it all....Fantastic Four.

Fantastic Four is a comic that could use the Bendis touch. Especially since the title hasn’t exactly made waves since Jonathan Hickman’s run. I think the “First Family” deserves a fun, hip spark of life, and Bendis has basically been “Marvel Viagra” for almost every title he’s jumped on. We know his take on Ben and Johnny’s relationship would be worth the 5 bucks a month alone!

Olivier Coipel has become one of my favorite artists these days with his amazing art on such titles as Siege, House of M and Thor...and he just seems to be getting better with every comic he draws. He would bring to life Ben, Johnny, Sue and Reed like we’ve never seen them and when he got the chance to draw Dr. Doom...it will undoubtedly create chills on everyone’s spine. Oh, and Galactus and Silver Surfer? We already know he is a master at drawing them from his Thor run...so no problem there, either.

I have never been a particular reader of the FF, but this team would have me hook, line and sinker.

Incredible Hulk

Scott Snyder & Joe Madureira

Who wouldn’t love to see this?! If we could make it happen...with some Dr. Strange spell from the Book of the Vishanti. See, because Scott Snyder is more than likely under a HUGE DC contract and it will probably be years before he would be available to Marvel.

But just IMAGINE he could work for the red team..OF COURSE the first book I’d put him on would be Hulk. He singlehandedly made The Joker’s return in Death of the Family the ultimate Batman horror story. He has written some amazing monster stories for Vertigo like American Vampire and The Wake. And let’s face it, he wrote the best Swamp Thing run since the Alan Moore days.

Snyder did some work for Marvel in 2009/2010, but never on their premiere monster comic, HULK! I would just love to see his take on not only the childlike monster, but the haunted man on the run, Banner.

Now for the wild card. Joe Madureira to me is a special case. He is probably one of the most popular comic book artists ever but never could quite cement himself really on any particular title. After a stint in the video game industry he seemed to find his way back to comics recently, but never really has managed to work on a book longer than 5 issues since his return. I suppose the real issue is that he is sort of a slow worker and his books rarely make their solicited release dates.

BUT! This is fantasy, right? If Joe Mad could magically get his work rate on point and turn in his pages on time, his ideal comic to work on would definitely be Incredible Hulk. His art combined with Snyder’s twisted imagination would be a perfect match!

Snyder and Madueira together on a Hulk title? Prepare for comic book sales to be SMASHED!

Wolverine

Garth Ennis & Jim Lee

So, if you’re a fan of Garth Ennis you may think he actually doesn’t LIKE Wolverine. While writing Punisher, Garth wrote a story where Frank literally castrates Logan! But nonetheless just because a writer writes a story about a character’s junk being shot off, doesn’t mean he HATES the character (especially when said character can grow his junk back)!

I actually think if we were to put the most twisted writer in comics on a (mature rated) Wolverine title, we would see the best comics in the history of furry clawed Canadians! I’m damn positive of it!

And who better to accent Ennis’ Wolverine than probably one of the best X-Men artists of all time?! How about Jim Lee coming back to Marvel just once...to draw the ultimate (but not Ultimate) Wolverine gore-fest? It’s a fanboy dream come true, is it not?

Garth is actually going to be writing Where Monsters Dwell for Marvel during Secret Wars, so that wouldn’t be a very far stretch for him to write an ongoing for them in the coming months, but Jim Lee? Well, he’s got an executive job over at DC, so it would be pretty hard for him to jump over to Marvel even for one tiny arc. But hey! Never say never!

Guardians of the Galaxy

Matt Fraction & J. Scott Campbell

Who better to helm the new “cool kids” of the Marvel U than the “cool kids” of comics? Matt Fraction can seemingly do no wrong when it comes to writing. From Thor to Hawkeye, everything he touches turns to gold...and Guardians would be no different.

He would write the witty repartee between Star Lord and Rocket like nobody else and it would be impossible to put the comic down!

Now, finding a suitable artist here was a difficult choice to make. I wanted someone with a fun style that was able to draw basically anything and was in tune to 80’s pop culture. And I remembered a certain gent that I’ve never been disappointed in and has this unique nostalgic quality in his artwork...J. Scott Campbell.

Campbell has this amazing Disney animated adventure style that would be perfect for Guardians of the Galaxy. Not to mention, his Gamora and Angela...basically ALL female characters, would be spot-on beautiful.

If you wouldn’t buy this comic book with this team attached to it...you may want to check your pulse.

Daredevil

Brian Azzarello & Lee Bermejo

Yes.This is a MUST! Just picture the acclaimed team of Azzarello and Bermejo, the same team that created such memorable stories for DC as Lex Luthor: Man of Steel and Joker, writing Daredevil. Is your mind blown yet?

Brian Azzarello was probably born to write crime/vigilante stories and Lee Bermejo is uncanny in his ability to draw characters with a gritty realism that they literally pop right off the page.

I just can’t imagine a better, more visceral team for the Man Without Fear.

Fans of the Netflix series would be floored by this and they would not only knock DD out of the park, but the villains would be done beautifully...Kingpin, Bullseye, Elektra, The Owl....Stilt Man...EVEN STILT MAN would be epic with these guys at the helm. Trust me on this one.

Captain Marvel

Frank Cho

Now, who could be possibly brought on board for the top female superhero in the MU, Carol Danvers? The man behind Jungle Girl, Liberty Meadows and Shanna The She-Devil would be perfect. Cho is known to many as a “cheesecake” artist, and has lately taken (way too much, imo) heat for simply doing what he has always done: draw beautiful, curvaceous, sexy women.

But I’ve met Frank. He’s a great guy and totally will do whatever he wants whether people like it or not. And thousands of people worldwide LOVE his art, including me. If you don’t, don’t look at it, don’t buy it...ignore it. He’s probably fine with that too.

Cho is perfectly capable of drawing AND writing a Captain Marvel comic book and it would be the coolest, funniest, most badass female superhero story ever. That’s really all I need to say about it. I think this is actually the one “dream book” I will mention in this column that will likely will happen sooner rather than later!

Deadpool

Kevin Smith & Humberto Ramos

How wacky would THIS be?! You get “lord of all fanboys” Kevin Smith and the most fun artist in all comics, Humberto Ramos...put them together on Marvel’s most popular character these days and what do you get? The bestest selling comic book...maybe ever.

I honestly have no idea why Marvel has never really thought of putting an all-star creative team on Deadpool yet. He’s undoubtedly more popular than ANY Marvel superhero right now, there’s a blockbuster movie in the works, and his merchandise sells out faster than stores have the chance to stock it...yet The Merc With A Mouth has NEVER gotten a great creative team on a solo series. It’s almost criminal!

Kevin Smith has a perfect sense of humor for Deadpool and he would get a chance to cut loose and basically do whatever he wants with the “breaking the 4th wall” shtick. The only real issue is that with his busy schedule (making movies and podcasts), he probably doesn’t have enough time to write comics...he actually never even got to finish his Batman/Onomatopoeia trilogy for DC. And the last book he wrote for Marvel, Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do took him 4 years to write (it was only a six parter). This is actually pretty damaging to sales and the company itself for soliciting the wrong info. Basically, writing a monthly comic book is probably impossible for Kevin.

Ramos on the other hand would be stellar drawing Deadpool. His off the wall, graffiti-esque style would be ideal for this character. I simply can’t think of a better artist that would exemplify the weird mind of Wade Wilson. Also, it would be great to see Ramos work on something OTHER than Spidey for the first time in a long time.

That’s all for this time, Bleeder Buddies! Are there any other dream writer/artist teams you’d like to see work on an upcoming Marvel reboot? Should I do a column like this for DC titles? Let me know in the comment section!

With his unique brand of humour mixed with die-hard passion and knowledge for all things comic books, Dave Michaels puts his weekly spin on the pop culture like only he can. Each “episode” of Full Page Bleed provides fun, wacky commentary, interviews, recommendations of Dave’s favourite comics, and whatever else his “evil genius” can conjure up. What are you reading THIS for?! Read some FPB RIGHT NOW and PREPARE to BLEED COMICS! FPB is Here...